Hackers Claim Breach of Russia’s Election System
Hackers Claim Breach of Russia’s Election System
Anonymous
Key Points
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Russia plans to hold the State Duma elections on September 18–20, making them the country’s first federal election campaign since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
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Russian authorities intend to organize voting in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Luhansk regions; Ukraine’s Central Election Commission has said such Russian-organized elections and referendums are illegitimate and their results legally void.
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GAS “Vybory” 2.0 was launched in early 2026 and is scheduled to be used for the first federal election campaign for the ninth State Duma.
Hackers claiming to be from the group CikLeak said they breached Russia's Central Election Commission and stole internal documents, source code, and passwords from the GAS "Vybory" 2.0 election system. Important Stories, an independent Russian outlet, reviewed the stolen archive and confirmed it was authentic. The breach claim came just days after Russian officials acknowledged cyberattacks on the system but insisted it remained secure.
The hackers said they did not want to disrupt voting but aimed to expose vulnerabilities that could let officials manipulate electronic election results. They urged Russians to vote in person instead. This breach claim emerged as Russia prepares for State Duma elections on September 18–20, the country's first major federal vote since the Ukraine invasion began in 2022.
What the Hackers Claim They Stole
CikLeak, also identified as SikLik in some reports, said they obtained internal documents, source code, call recordings, passwords, and employee emails from Russia's election systems. The hackers targeted both the Central Election Commission and Tsifrotekh, a subsidiary of Rostelecom that built the GAS "Vybory" 2.0 platform. Important Stories verified that the stolen archive contained real materials from these organizations.
Russian Officials Admit Attacks But Claim System Is Safe
CEC Chair Ella Pamfilova and Russian digital officials acknowledged that the election system faced extensive cyberattacks. Despite earlier claims that the system could not be hacked, officials now say it remains "highly secure" even after the breaches. Reuters and other outlets reported on the contradiction between Pamfilova's previous statements and her recent admissions.
The breach comes as Russian authorities review vulnerabilities in the election, remote-voting, and video-surveillance systems. GAS "Vybory" 2.0 was launched in early 2026 and will be used for the first time in the upcoming State Duma elections.
Elections Scheduled for Territories Ukraine Says Are Occupied
Russia plans to hold voting in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Luhansk regions—areas Moscow controls but Ukraine claims are temporarily occupied. Ukraine's Central Election Commission has said any Russian-organized elections in these territories are illegitimate. The vote results will have no legal standing under international law, according to Ukrainian officials.
The September State Duma elections mark Russia's first major federal campaign since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. The elections will test the new GAS "Vybory" 2.0 system at a national scale for the first time.
Hackers Say They Want To Highlight Manipulation Risks
CikLeak said their goal was not to sabotage the vote but to expose how the system could be exploited to rig election results. The hackers released the stolen materials to show Russians the security gaps that exist. They specifically urged voters to use paper ballots instead of electronic voting to avoid potential manipulation.
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